The Witches Web
by SpaggyB
Summary: When faced with an eternity of nothing to do except be dead, Vriska Serket decides to stir up some trouble in the land of the living. However, not everything goes to plan, and she soon finds herself facing her worst nightmares, while the war she sets in motion rages through the void. An epic tale of chaos, romance... and revenge.
1. DISCLAIMER

**BEFORE READING THIS FAN FICITION:**

**I DO NOT OWN HOMESTUCK, OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. ALL CHARACTERS THAT APPEAR IN THIS FAN FICTION BELONG TO ANDREW HUSSIE, AS WELL AS THE CONCEPT AND STORY LOCATIONS. THE REAL HOMESTUCK WEBCOMIC CAN BE READ AT **

**mspaintadventures dot com**

**THIS STORY IS ONE OF FICTION, WRITTEN BY A BORED AND IMAGINATIVE GIRL WHO HAS WAY TOO MUCH SPARE TIME ON HER HANDS. ANY SIMILARITIES TO ANY OTHER WORKS OF FICTION BY ANY AUTHOR, CHARACTERS NOT INCLUDED IN ANDREW HUSSIES HOMESTUCK, AND/OR REAL LIFE EVENTS ARE PURELY COINCIDENTAL. **

Please refer to these panels of Homestuck, simply to get a bearing of where the story picks up:

. ?s=6&p=005781  
. ?s=6&p=005782  
. ?s=6&p=005783  
. ?s=6&p=005784  
. ?s=6&p=005785

This fan fiction continues on from the final panel, and takes place during the three years that the characters are traveling either on the old Navy Ship, or the Asteroid. Due to personal preference, I will not be posting Authors Notes on each chapter submission. If you have any questions or queries, please post a review, and I will answer as soon as I can. I am aiming to post one chapter per week, on each Monday, Australian Time.

While I am trying to keep the characters as canon as possible, there will be some headcanon material mixed in that some readers may not agree with. If this is the case, please remember this is all just in fun.

Thank you for taking the time to read my fan fiction! I hope you enjoy what I have to offer :)

SpaggyB


	2. Prologue

Prologue

_A steady drip, drip, drip, was the only noise she could hear, curled up on the hard, wet concrete floor, her hair in a matted craze around her pale, ashen face. She had lost track of how much time had passed since she found herself trapped in this nightmare, this hell dimension created by the Witch. She no longer cared what he had done to her, all she could think about were the possibilities of what _she _was doing to _him_. Her imagination tortured her, fueled by her own ordeals and experiences she had suffered through under the Witches spells. The tricks, the lies and the illusions. The endless hours of solitude, lost and wandering in this vast and never ending maze, with each ticking second, each heavy footfall crushing the hope of escape. Of freedom._

_Every passing minute brought her closer to the realization that there was no escape. She would be trapped here for eternity, forced to play along with the Witches games, like a pawn on a never ending chess board, surrounded by players infinitely more powerful than her. She closed her eyes, and longed for her matesprites touch, his arms around her, the only embrace to ever make her feel safe and wanted. Oh what a fool she had been, to spend so many sweeps blind to her own emotion, as well as his. So much time had been wasted, and now it was too late. Tears welled in her empty eyes, and fell softly to the floor around her. No noise escaped her lips as she wept, nor did a single tremor shake her body. She was still and silent, numb to the agony of knowing she would never hold her one true partner again._

_As if on queue, the steady rhythm of footfalls drifted into the room, the noise echoing off the barren walls, pulsing through her ears like the steady drum beat reserved for the dead man walking towards the gallows. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, her breath catching in her throat as the steps grew louder and louder, closer and closer, until they stopped right in front of her, as usual. An eternal moment dragged by before the beaten troll stole a ragged breath, and looked up into the face of her nightmares._


	3. Chapter One: Meeting

John was speechless. Frozen solid against the glass, staring down at her, a shining beacon in her orange GodTier pajamas, looking so innocent, so vulnerable on his front lawn. She stared back, empty eyes boring into his, mouth set in a solid line across her grey toned face. Even though they were reduced to just hollow sockets, they somehow managed to smolder at him with some deep, unfathomable emotion. The moment was endless. Even though he had never once set eyes on her, even though less than a minute ago, he had no idea who this girl was, and had in fact been annoyed and irritated by her persistent trolling, he knew her name instantly.

Vriska.

Still unable to believe the situation, John made his way on shaky legs back to his computer, where the conversation was still up on the screen.

* * *

GT: How did you get to my house? Why are you on my front lawn?

AG: I told you. Im here 8ecause I am dead, and you must either 8e the same, or simply asleep.

AG: On one hand, I hope youre dead like me, 8ecause that would mean I wouldn't be stuck with that hopeless little imp Tavros any more

AG: 8ut on the other, and I don't know why I feel this way, I really hope you are not dead

AG: 8ecause that would 8e… saddening.

GT: wait IM DEAD? WHAT? I don't remember dying…

GT: except when you tricked me into dying so I could reach GodTier…

GT: but I didn't die AFTER reaching GodTier…

GT: Did I?

GT: =/

AG: I said you MIGHT 8e dead. 8ut if you were, Im sure you would 8e a8le to reme8er it. So you must just 8e asleep.

GT: this is crazy, how is this happening? Am I dreaming?

AG: Something like that actually. This will 8e the dream 8u88les that Feferi set up a while 8ack.

GT: Dream bubbles?

GT: I mean 8u88les (hehe)

GT: what is a dream 8u88le?

AG: To 8e honest, im not entirely sure myself. I just know that they are memories where people, dead or dreaming, can come and hang out and catch up. Im glad they actually work to 8e honest. 8eing dead is kinda a drag. Especially since Im stuck with a little weakling like I said.

GT: My head is spinning…

GT: Hey, if I can meet up with you while Im sleeping, do you think I could meet up with all the others?

AG: I guess so. 8ut I don't know how to find them. I don't know if you even can traverse through the 8u88les at will.

AG: Also

AG: Are you just going to leave me outside in the snow and talk to me via computer?

AG: Or are you going to 8e a gentleman and invite me inside so we can actually meet properly?

AG: I admit, its something ive 8een looking forward to for a while now :::;)

GT: OH! Yeah I guess you can come inside! Hang on Ill come downstairs and get the door for you!

AG: No need, just open the window ::::)

* * *

John nervously glanced away from the screen to the window. She was there, hovering right outside his bedroom, smiling in at him innocently, her perfect lips pulled back to reveal sharp, pointed fangs.

_Fangs?! _

Making his way across his cluttered room, Johns stomach started to turn. He had been talking with this girl for so long now, to actually be meeting her in the flesh was something he never thought possible. Or, at least not for the next three years that he would be travelling on the ship with Jade. He thought Vriska was on the meteor with the rest of the trolls, but now shes saying she's dead! _Dead!_ An unexplainable knot formed in the back of his throat at the thought of her lying motionless somewhere, broken and bleeding. But then, how could she be dead when she is clearly floating right outside his window? This whole situation was mind boggling to him.

Johns mind raced, his mouth dried and his palms started to sweat as his feet shuffled and tripped their way across his bedroom floor. With each step closer to her, Vriskas smile widened, until a full fledged beam stretched right across her face as her breath steamed up little patches of the thin glass that was now the only thing separating her and the John Human. Much like her friend, Vriska had also been anticipating this meeting for quite some time.

They held eye contact for a moment that seemed like eternity before John finally lifted his hands to the window pane, and slowly unlatched the frame with fumbling fingers. A soft creak broke the silent tension as the window slid up, letting in a blast of cool, frosty air that chilled Johns burning cheeks. With one twitch of her agile fairy wings, Vriska gracefully swooped past John and into the house, stopping to hover in the middle of the room, a few inches off the ground. For another tension filled moment, the two of them stared at each other across the various scattered present items left forgotten on the floor. "Hello John."  
John felt his eyes widen reflexly. Her voice was not at all what he was expecting. Smooth, and sweet, like honey on warm toast, but also with an undertone of a vicious bite. To his surprise, he felt muscles knot deep in his stomach, and his breath catch ever so slightly in his throat. He was stunned by this creature floating in his bedroom. Utterly stunned.

Vriskas empty eyes were burning a hole through Johns head, but her mouth was twitching ever so slightly at the corners as John just stood there, doing a wonderful imitation of a living statue. After a few seconds, Vriska sighed gentle, and settled herself on the edge of the bed. She took a moment to smooth out her flowing robe before turning her attention back to the stunned mullet in the room.  
"So, are you going to say hello to me, or am I going to have to… persuade you?" If Vriska could wink, she would have. A pleasurable thrill ran down her spine at the thought that she had this kind of affect on John. It was plainly obvious to her that he was completely out of his depth, enchanted by her allure. Something she reveled in.

John quickly swallowed drying and shifted his weight to his other foot, nervous and slightly embarrassed at his complete lack of control.

"He-hello Vriska," he managed to stammer out, unable to hold her gaze now that the spell over him had been broken. "Its really good to… finally meet you… You know, for real…"

A small giggle escaped Vriskas lips.

"Why, yes, I agree. This is something Ive looked forward to for quite some time now." Her smile was dazzling. Nothing in any worlds that John new of could have prepared him for this. Could this graceful, and frankly beautiful, troll girl sitting on his bed _really_ be the same girl he had been talking to for such a long time? Whatever he had been expecting, it certainly wasn't this.

"Um… sorry that my room is such a mess…" Johns voice was soft, his nerves over powering his usual comfort around new people. He remembered back to when he first met Rose. He handled that with ease, even knowing what KarKat had said about marrying her one day! What is it about Vriska that has him at such a disadvantage? He kicked idly at the box that was meant to house Jades present, aware that Vriskas hollow eyes were trained on his bowed head.

"Im not here to see your room, John," he could have sworn Vriska shifted on the bed, ever so slightly towards him. "Im here to see you. Like I said, I've been looking forward to this meeting for a while. Ever since we started talking in fact."

"Now, why don't you get a grip on yourself, and come sit next to me? Theres no telling how long you will be asleep, and I really don't want to waste our first encounter."

Once again, there was a sultry tone to her voice, and John was sure she would have winked at him, had she been able to.

"So… now that youre here, and Im here, and we are both here… what do you want to do?" John shuffled over to his bed, and nervously took a seat beside Vriska. Oh GOD she smelled amazing! A thick, heady aroma that was completely foreign and unplacable wafted from her every inch, and hit John smack in the face. He felt his face redden as the muscles in his stomach tightened ever so slightly. This girl was completely intoxicating!

"Talk." She replied simply, seemingly unaware of the affect she was having on this helpless boy. Suddenly, she tilted her lovely head to the side, and a slight frown creased her mouth.

"You know though John, Im sorry, but you don't seem to be as lively as I imagined from our conversations online. Are you feeling sick or something? Have I caught you at a bad time?"

John blanched. Embarrassed yet again, he shook his head and mentally kicked himself.

_Get a grip you imbecile! This is Vriska, you've talked to her countless times 8efore. I MEAN BEFORE! Damnit!_

"No, no Im not sick, and this isn't a bad time, its not like that. Its just, this whole situation, with the dream bubbles, and the memory, and you being dead and all… it's all a lot to take in. I mean, I can believe it all, except maybe the bit about you actually being dead, but its just… yeah, a lot to take in…"  
"Hmm… I guess I can see where you are coming from. But don't despair! Vriska is here to shed some light on the subject!" She flashed a dazzling grin, sending John spiraling into a renewed sense of wonder.

"So, as I was saying before, we are currently in a dream bubble. Ferferi set them up with the Dark Gogs a long while back, expressly for this purpose. So that we could all meet up again while we were asleep. Or dead. Dream bubbles are really memory bubbles if you ask me, since they are actually made of memories and not dreams. Like this one for example. This exact situation has already occurred, sweeps ago! And it played out like it should have, until the end when I realized that it was a memory, and not actually real. Once that is realized, the people inside the bubble are able to interact with each other, just like we are now. Understand?"

John nodded his head slowly, turning over every thing Vriska had just said. Now that he had something to focus on, he was able to put aside her allure and concentrate on the situation.  
"So, how do you know you're not just asleep and not dead?"

Vriskas face fell, but only marginally. A small sigh escaped her lips as she turned her empty gaze to the floor.

"No, Im definitely dead. I was killed by another troll when I was heading off to face Jack alone."

"What? You were going to face Jack ALONE?" John was on his feet, not even fully aware that he had moved. Or why. Something inside him, almost like an instinct, was screaming at him to protect this girl at all costs.

_John, what are you doing?! Seriously, get a grip, you only just met her for crying out loud!_

John blanched yet again as he sat back down next to Vriska, who was watching him with a puzzled, yet slightly amused expression.

"Calm down human, I would have been fine. I had reached GodTier, I was the most powerful player, and like I told you a while back, I _wanted_ to be the one to take him down. After all, I was the one who created him. Don't you remember?"

Now that she mentioned it, John _did_ remember. Vriska had forced him to go to sleep just as he was about to prototype Jades Sprite with something useless, which resulted in Bec, Jades lusus-dog-guardian being prototyped instead. It was because of that, that Jack had become unbeatable. It had always been something that John had never understood.

"Vriska… why did you do it?"

John looked up into her face, once again being completely taken aback by what he saw there. Her empty eyes smoldered, and her lips creased in a slight smile. Passion radiated from her every pore, and her nostrils flared with each intake of breath.

"I wanted to be the best John." Her voice was low, seductive, and John found himself longing to reach over and touch her grey skin, and urge even he found completely alarming.

"The… the best?" his stuttering question was barely audible, even to him.

"Yes. Its what I've strived for my entire life."

Vriska twitched her wings, and gently floated over to the window, her expression blank and unreadable. She stared out into the falling snow, lost in thought as the minutes dragged by. John sat and watched her, too uncomfortable to break the awkward silence between them, still racked by the new and confusing emotions raging inside his head. He could make no sense of it. Why now was he feeling this pull to her? Why was he feeling it at all? The minutes ticked on.

Vriskas soft voice finally drifted across the room. John simply gazed at her while she spoke, completely enraptured by the inhuman beauty framed perfectly in his window.

"Weakness is unacceptable John. Strength is all that matters in my world. I have explained this to you before, when we spoke about the brutal slaying of Tavros. Trolls are born to kill. We are born to fight amongst ourselves, to establish order and prove our worth in society. Usually, this trait doesn't completely surface until a troll is fully matured, but sometimes it appears more predominantly in some adolescences than in others. Like me for example.

I told you about my Flarping days, when Terezi and I were the perfect team, and we would slay other children during our role-playing. At the time, I had everyone believe it was just a hobby, as well as a way to feed my very high-maintenance lusus, but the truth is much more macabre than that. It gave me a sense of power, John. I was the best there was. No one could beat me. I made my own rules, and everyone else had no choice but to play them. And lose to me. I was unbeatable.

This game was no different. I tried to make my own rules. I believed I was the best player. More than that, I _was_ the best player. I paid the most attention, and I had the tightest grip on the situation. I knew what I was doing, while the rest of those idiots were just fumbling around and fluking their way through it under the so-called leadership of that hideously obnoxious weakling KarKat. How the others let him take over like that is completely beyond me. Had they appointed me as their leader, we would have beaten that game to a pulp in a much shorter time span.

Anyway, as I was saying, once KarKat assumed control, I decided to do my own thing, but appear to be following that imbeciles instruction. I dipped my fingers into every inch of the game, I influenced everyone and everything to do my will. And part of that was creating an unstoppable boss. Even though he inst unstoppable.

I went back to the habits of my Flarping days. Creating my own rules, and my own game that everyone else was to play. A game that would see me, and me alone, to be the heroic victor. Making me the undisputed strongest player, and ultimate winner of the game."

Vriska paused her monologue to turn and flash John a wicked grin.

"Do you understand that John?"

John was shocked. This was a lot of information to process. Hearing all of this from Vriska made her sound like she was something like a psychopath, but he couldn't tell her that.

He swallowed dryly, his voice no more than a squeak.

"You're a psychopath."

_Fuck why did you say that you idiot?_

Vriska laughed, throwing her head back gracefully, her long hair cascading down her back.

"Yes, I suppose I am. But hey, had I not been brutally murdered, I still believe I would have been successful in my plan. I would have stopped Jack."

"What makes you so sure?"

She sighed.

"Were you not listening to _any_ of that John? I knew what I was doing. I had the whole situation under control. I knew how to defeat Jack. I was powerful enough. I was the best."

"You don't know that Vriska. Jacks powers… they are easily underestimated."

Vriska drifted away from the window, and came to hover in front of John, still sitting ridged on the bed. Leaning forward, Vriskas face came to a rest, mere inches from Johns. Her hollow eye sockets were especially eerie this close, but he hardly noticed. His senses went into overdrive the minute he realized how _close_ she was to him. So close he could feel her warm breath on his face, and see the texture of her perfect lips. With his eyes wide, he felt it as a sharp pang of desire for this impeccable creature sent chills down his spine.

Her voice was low, quiet and unbearably sexy.

"So are mine…"

John squeezed his eyes shut, and when they re-opened, Vriska was gone. In her place were the dreary, rusted walls of the old navy ship, and in place of her echoing voice, the harsh nak nak nakking of his salamander room mates.


	4. Chapter Two: In Motion

_Well, that could have gone worse._

Vriska was spread out on Johns bed, eyes closed, hair fanned out above her head in an elegant wave of black. John had woken up, leaving her alone in his memory bedroom to reflect on the meeting just past. John was definitely everything she had expected him to be. The perfect fit in the intricate puzzle she was designing. He had reacted perfectly, played his part and recited his lines as if he had trained his whole life.

She sighed and rolled over to her side, burying her head in Johns pillow. She stilled herself against the expected onslaught of repulsive aromas, but was met with none. Obviously details like that would be omitted from the memory room, as Vriska had never been subjected to it. Something she was actually quite thankful for. She couldn't imagine the John Human, or any human really, to carry an appetizing aroma.

_Hmmm… I certainly had quite an effect on poor little John…_

Vriska was no stranger to seduction. She was fully aware of her allure, and used it to her advantage, manipulating those around her to do as she wished, while not giving away the control she held over them. She regarded it as somewhat of an art form, spending sweeps of her life perfecting the graceful dance, preying on the weaker trolls she encountered, and of course, simply using her mind control abilities on anyone who resisted.

_No need for mind control here though… John is dancing with me step for step._

A smile played across her lips as she remembered the last few minutes of the encounter. Leaning so close to him, seeing him tense under her empty gaze, knowing that he was completely under her spell. That level of power is what she craved, adored. Its what she lived for. Seeing his face pale, his pupils dilate, feeling his breath quicken. Oh how she loved it!

Without warning, the musky, masculine scent of John Egbert filled her nostrils, overwhelming her senses. Of course being that close to him she would have caught a whiff of his skin! She just hadn't realized it. Her body had certainly retained it though; she was remembering him right now. His pillow became thick with the delectable scent, and much to her surprise, it triggered something within her. Thinking about her face inches from his, and being shocked so forcefully with his overwhelming aroma caused her to feel… _desire_.

Vriska shot bolt upright on the bed, heart pounding, breathe ragged. What the fuck was going on? She was feeling _desire_ for this human? How is that possible? Sure, she would flirt with him on occasion, but that was to maintain control over him, and now… how is this even fucking possible?

_No. I have to leave this memory. This is preposterous. _

In one graceful swoop, Vriska was off the bed and out of the still open window. Flying away from the house through the snow, her head cleared and she became furious. Furious at John fucking Egbert for causing so much trouble, and furious at herself for losing control like that.

Soon, that memory was far behind her, and she found herself drifting over the vast sandy desert that was the afterlife. When the dead weren't haunting someone else's memory, they were here. Somewhere. As mentioned, it was vast. Finding others in the afterlife wasn't such an easy feat, which is why Vriska had decided to bunk together with another dead troll, even though the mere sight of him was irritating for her. _Still,_ she reasoned with herself, _it was either 8eing with him or 8eing alone for the rest of eternity._

She closed her eyes, and pictured the little hive they had built together out of a random assortment of materials they could scrounge up from the surrounding desert. It wasn't much, but it was better than being stuck out in the harsh sun all day. Mismatched wooden walls, held together by a stone base and pieces of a string-like material they foraged from nearby shrubs. A roof made of more wood, held down by stones. Vriska had a theory that there would be ruins around somewhere, but the insufferable little wimp was too much of a coward to venture any further into the sandy dunes. Maybe one day she would use her abilities to force him into submission.

When she reopened her eyes, the makeshift hive sat below her, dainty and seriously depressing. She hoped internally that Tavros was off annoying some other helpless dreamer, so she could have some time to herself to think over what had happened in Johns bedroom. However, she would have no such luck.

She landed softly in the sand, despite her sour mood, and stomped her way up the front door. Pushing through, she kicked off her boots and scanned the interior, her eyes coming to rest on the figured sitting cross legged in the corner, carving little figurines out of notches of wood. Her mood plummeted even more.

"Vriska! You-you're back!" Tavros looked up from his work, a smile splitting his face at the sight of her framed in the doorway. His face fell however, when he registered the look of contempt on her features. "Uhm… is everything… o-ok Vriska?"

"Well, I was hoping you wouldn't be home." Her words were cutting, harsh, meant to wound. She stomped her way through the little hive over to where he was sitting. Tavros coward beneath her murderous glare.

"O-Oh… well, I g-guess I could uhm… go out for a while then? Look for… uhm… more wood or something…"

Vriska sighed. Squeezing her eyes shut, she massaged her temples with long, elegant fingers. After what seemed like an eternal minute, she opened them again and looked down on Tavros, taking pity on the lesser troll.

"No. Its fine. Just stay out of my way, ok?"

As much as she found Tavros insufferable, she still felt bad about mercilessly killing him in cold blood. He was, after all, basically helpless, and had done nothing really wrong. But, what happened happened, and now they were both stuck in the after life.

With an exasperated sigh, Vriska retreated into her makeshift room, a small area of the hive sectioned off for her privacy. While it didn't come even near close to the room she had when she was alive, it had come to be somewhat of a sanctuary for her over the endless days after her death. A small escape from the mundane lifestyle, or _after-_lifestyle, forced upon her by Terezi, someone she once considered her sister, as well as her irritating hivemate. Trolls were definitely not designed for living together. It was hard enough to share a meteor with the others when she was alive, let alone this tiny little shack now. And with the most annoying, irritating, completely pathetic excuse for a troll imaginable no less. Vriska often entertained the memory of living alone, with only her giant spider lusus to worry about.

Sitting on the edge of her so-called bed, Vriska mulled over her earlier encounter with John, picking absent-mindedly at the hem of her GodRobes. She had thought that she would have been feeling more excited than this once her plan was set in motion, but her mood was shifting more towards indifference, and she found she was becoming almost disinterested in the whole thing. A concept that should have been completely preposterous to her. This is what she thrived on; the manipulation and control of those around her. The game.

She couldn't shake the memory of lying on Johns bed at the moment his scent hit her nostrils. Why had she reacted like that? Yes, she liked John, he was entertaining, and fun to play with, but to actually feel _desire_ for the little wriggler was something completely unexpected.

_He isn't even a troll! He's a weak little human kid, pale and soft, unimpressive in stature as well as mind. Easily manipul8ed, he is no match for me. To feel any sort of red feelings for him does not make sense, and only makes me weaker._

With a sharp, determined shake of her head, Vriska resolved to put it from her mind. It was nothing more than a momentary lapse of concentration, that's all. Besides, she had more important things to worry about than some pathetic little human flesh sack. Now that her plan was in motion, she had to make sure it all ran smoothly, with everyone playing their parts. She had more dream bubbles to visit. But first…

"Hey Pupa!" in an instant she was out of her room, and hovering inches above the floor of the main living area, her wicked smile once again plastered on her face. Tavros, still sitting in the same place working on his carvings, looked up at her, slightly intimidated as usual.  
"Feeling b-better Vriska?"

"Why yes Pupa, thank you. I need a favour from you. Remember the plan?"

A slight falter flashed across his face at her words.

"… yes… I m-mean, you've talked about it uhm… before but uh… Honestly, I think you were uhm… talking a bit… a bit fast for me to really keep up, but uh… I _think_ I got mo-most of it…. If you um… want to run through it again though, I uhm… wouldn't mind. You know, so we are, uhm, both of the same… the same page."

"Yes, yes, yes Pupa, we shall go through it again. Later. Right now, I need you to start your part of the plan though. Remember who you have to talk to? And what you have to say to them?" Vriska drifted closer to the meek troll, her glare gaining just a hint of menace. Tavros swallowed dryly.

"Y-yes… I need to talk to uhm… Gamzee… and try to uh…"

"No, not _try_ Pupa Pan, DO!" She cut him off with a wave of her hand. "There is no _try_ in my world, only success! This is why I involved you in the first place, to make you a stronger, more confident troll! If you expect to live with me for the rest of eternity, then you will have to learn my way of doing things. Either voluntarily," she flashed him another sly, toothy grin, "or not."

"W-well, Vriska, I uhm… I guess I could… I mean, if you think it will um… Improve my self confidence, then um… maybe it would be good for me to participate in this… ad-adventure. It might even um… be exciting!"  
Tavros had always loved adventure, and had been an avid player in the same Flarp extreme roll playing games as Vriska, before his tragic accident left him paralysed from the waist down that is. He had actually been enjoying the game he and his troll friends had been playing before everyone started going crazy and killing one another, and even he had to admit that he missed the sense of exploration now that he had nothing to do in the after life. As much as he wasn't looking forward to tricking his friends, the promise of excitement was just too tempting. That and the fact that if he didn't go along with her plans willingly, Vriska would simply use her mind control powers to force him into doing her biding.

"Yes, Tore_bore_, it will be exciting! As far as your self confidence goes though, if I were you, I'd call on that wimpy sack of crap _Rufio_ to back me up. Oh wait, you cant. because Rufio is a fakey fake fakster!" This felt better. She was back to being her usual confident, malicious self. She rustled her wings and flicked her hair arrogantly.

"Now, get going! Remember the plan, and get that idiotic clown eating out of your palm!" Without warning, she closed the gap between them, and hefted Tavros up by his collar. The wooden carvings he had been working on all afternoon fell to the floor with a clutter as he flailed around and exclaimed in shock. With a graceful swing of her arm, Vriska lobbed Tavros out of the hive window, sending him soaring through the dusky sky.

"Now go Pupa! Fly!"

Tavros found himself back in his old hive. Tinkerbull, his little fairy bull Lusus, was sleeping soundly in the corner, and Gamzee, a fellow troll and friend of the timid adventurer was messaging him through his computer. Of course, this was just a memory though. In a moment, after the conversation had played out the way it originally had, Gamzee would realize what was happening, and he and Tavros would be able to speak freely. All Tavros had to do was wait, and play his part.

* * *

TC: ArE tHoSe BeAtS sTiLl ChIlL?  
AT: yEAH,

TC: aRe ThEy MoThErFuCkIn StRiCt?

AT: yEAHHHHH,

TC: AiGhT.

TC: cRaCk…..

TC: HiSsSsSsSsSsSsSs….

TC: MoThErFuCkIn… WaIt BrO…

AT: aHHH, yES HERE WE gO…

TC: i SeNsE a MoThErFuCkIn MiRicLe Up In ThIs BiTcH yO

TC: LiKe oNe Of ThEm FrEsH dE jA vOu ThInGs GoIn DoWn

TC: As If WeVe BeEn HeRe BeFoRe YoU kNoW?

AT: uHHH, wELL YOU SEE, tHATS BECAUSE WE HAVE uHMM… BEEN hERE BEFORE

AT: I REMEMBER THIS CONVERSATION tOO. wE HAD A RAP bATTLE AND uMM.. YOU TOTALLY uM KICKED MY nOOK WITH YOUR uUUHH, tOTALLY FRESH BEATS.

TC: sO tHiS iS oNe Of ThEm DrEaM tHiNgS tHeN?

TC: lIkE a PlAcE sEt Up By MoThErFuCkIn MiRiClE MaKeRs Or SoMe SuCh ShIt FoR sO tHaT tHe DrEaMeRs AnD tHe DeAd CoUlD tOtAlLy CoMe AnD mOtHeRfUcKiN cHiLl YeAh?

AT: yES, sOMETHING LIKE THAT i SUPPOSE.

TC: SpEaKiN oF, sOrRy AbOUt ThE wHoLe BeInG dEaD tHiNg :o(

TC: ToTaLlY nOt CoOl If YoU sO aSk Me

AT: oH, iTS NOT SO BAD. i KIND OF UHMM… LIVE WITH vRISKA NOW, aND THE AFTERLIFE IS, wELL, rELAXING i GUESS. nOT MUCH RESPONSIBILITY, aLTHOUGH MAYBE A bIT BORING.

TC: Oh No FuCkIn ShIt! yOuRe LiViNg WiTh VrIsKa? HaRsH dUdE, tHaTs GoTtA bE oNe MiGhTy AwKwArD lIvIn SpAcE yOu GuYs HaVe GoT tHeRe :o)

TC: WhAt WiTh ThE hEr BeInG rEsPoNsIbLe FoR yOuR mUrDeR aNd WhAtNoT

AT: aCTUALLY ITS OKAY. sHE IS STILL REALLY bOSSY, bUT i SUPPOSE SHES ALWAYS bEEN LIKE THAT… sHE WOULDN'T BE VRISKA iF SHE WASN'T.

AT: bY THE WAY, sHE WANTED mE TO PASS ON A mESSAGE TO YOU.

TC: Oh HeLlS fUcKiN yEs! BuT iF sHe WaNtEd To TaLk To Me, WhY dOeSnT sHe MaGiC hEr DeAd LiTtLe WaY oVeR tO oNe Of ThEsE lItTlE dReAm BuBbLe ThInGs AnD tElL mE hErSeLf?

TC: DoNt SeEm ToO fAiR oF hEr To SeNd YoU tO RuN hEr ErRaNdS tHaT wHiCh ShE sHoUlD bE dOiN yOu KnOw?

AC: oH, i DON'T REALLY MIND. i GET TO GET oUT OF THE HIVE aT LEAST… i WAS GETTING A lITTLE RESTLESS IN THERE aNYWAY

TC: pLUS i GET TO TALK TO YOU aGAIN GAMZEE }:o)

TC: ThAt ThErE iS tHe TrUtH mY fRiEnD :o)

TC: nOw, WhAt Is It ThAT MiSs SeRkEt WoUlD lIkE yOu To TeLl Me?

AT: oH, rIGHT, wELL… sHE SAID TO SAY tO YOU THAT SINCE YOURE kARKATS MOIRAIL NOW, yOU WOULD BE ABLE TO bREAK THE BAD NEWS TO HIM

TC: bAd NeWs? LeT mE tElL yOu SoMeThInG mY fRiEnD, nO nEwS iS bAd NeWs. NeWs Is JuSt NeWs, WhAt MaKeS iT gOoD oR bAd Is OnEs WaY oF aCcEpTiNg SaId NeWs :o)

TC: So LaY iT oN mE bRoThEr :o)

AT: wELL THAT'S A GOOD WAY oF LOOKING AT THINGS THEN i GUESS

AT: aNYWAY, THE NEWS, gOOD OR bAD, dEPENDING ON HOW YOU aCCEPT IT, iS THAT VRISKA HAS bEEN TALKING WITH THE jOHN HUMAN, aND uHMM, SHE SAYS THAT hE IS ON aN OLD NAVY SHIP, wHATEVER THAT IS, wITH JADE, aND THEY ARE UMM… PLANNING A lEADER TAKE OVER WHEN eVERYONE MEETS UP AGAIN, iN THREE YEARS TIME.

AT: aCCORDING TO VRISKA, jOHN IS PLANNING ON… kILLING KARKAT AND TAKING oVER THE GROUP, aT LEAST, i THINK THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID…

AT: yES, tHATS DEFINITELY WHAT SHE SAID. i AM CONFIDENT, wHICH IM NOT USUALLY, sO YOU KNOW I HAVE TO BE ON THE rIGHT TRACK

AT:… rIGHT?

TC: MakEs SeNsE tO mE :o) hOnK

TC: YeAh BrOtHeR, yOu CaN cOuNt On Me To PaSs SuCh HoStIlE iNfOrMaTiOn On To My DeAr MoiRaIl :o)

AT: tHANKS

TC: NoW tHaT aLl ThE sErIoUs StUfF iS oUt Of ThE wAy, WhAtS sAy YoU tO a BiT oF fReSh MoThErFuCkIn BeAtS?

TC: mY hArD rApPiN, hArD rHyMiN fRiEnD :o)

AT: i GUESS WE DID hAVE A RAP BATTLE iN THE FIRST PLACE, rIGHT

AT: aND iLL ADMIT, i DO KIND OF MISS bEING ALL CASUAL aND ALMOST CONFIDENT wHEN IT CAME TO fRESH BEATS

TC: mOtHeR

TC: fUcKiN

TC: hONk

TC: :o)

* * *

Tavros smiled to himself, reading over the next few lines of Gamzees atrocious rhymes. He really did miss this about being alive. The carefree banter, the joking, the fun of it all. The role play. While its true that this particular troll was more likely to be found face deep in a disgusting slime pie than out in the world of Flarp, there were others who joined him and Vriska in their adventures. The thought of messaging them briefly crossed his mind, but a slight flicker in his surroundings drew his attention back to the bubble.

* * *

TC: AlAs, It WoUlD aPpEaT tHaT tHe TiMe FoR iNtErAcTiOn AnD ePiC rHyMeS iS oVeR. i Am InDeEd WaKiNg Up FrOm ThIs MoThErFuCkIn BrIlLiAnT nAp Of MiNe

AT: yES, iT WOULD APPEAR SO.

TC: It WaS gOoD tAlKiN wItH yOu BrOtHeR :o)

TC: tElL yOuR aRaChNiD hOuSeMaTe ThAt GaMzEe, MiGhTiEsT oF jUgGeLoS sAyS hOwDy DoO

AT: i GUESS i COULD PASS THAT ON

AT: iT WAS QUITE GOOD TO TALK tO YOU AGAIN AS WELL

AT: jUST DON'T FORGET TO tELL KARKAT WHAT i SAID?

TC: yOu GoT iT sOn :o)

TC: TiL nExT tImE

* * *

The screen faded to black, and Tavros was left alone to watch as the walls of his old hive slowly melted around him. Soon, he was once again standing alone in the vast sandy desert known to the dead.

With a weary sigh, Tavros started home.


	5. Chapter Three: On Deck

He wasn't sure how much time had passed while he lay there, staring at the old rusted walls of the navy vessel. All he knew was that he couldn't think of anything other than his dream. Meeting Vriska, talking with her face to lovely face, being overwhelmed by her very essence. Whatever John had been expecting their first meeting to be like, it certainly wasn't that. Nothing could have prepared him for the array of emotion and feeling that had washed over him at the sight of her hovering in the middle of his childhood bedroom. Even less could have made him ready to hear her sweet, tantalizing voice chime into his ears. Even now, after waking up in a completely different situation, away from her charms and allure, he was still completely under her spell.

Johns thought pattern was interrupted by a timid knock at the door. Raising his head from his pillow, he watched as his fellow sailor entered the room, a shy smile lighting up her face. When Jade saw he was awake, her lips parted further into a shining beam, and her eyes became brighter, more aware.

"John!" as usual, her voice rang light and child like across the room. "You're awake! Im sorry I just came to check up on you because you've been asleep for a long time!"

"Hey Jade," he sat up on the bunk, swinging his legs over the side of the bed facing Jade as she skipped lightly across the room. "Yeah, sorry I've been really tired. You know, this is the first real break we've had for a while. Even I didn't really realize how tired I was getting."  
Jade sat down on the bed next to him, nodding seriously.  
"Yes, I suppose you're right." A thoughtful look crossed her face as she chewed on her lower lip. "I guess I will also fall asleep for a while soon too. But Im still pretty wired up on all the excitement of the past few weeks to really think about sleeping now!"

"When are you not wired up Jade?" John teased playfully, relaxing back into his normal mind frame. The drama with Vriska was still playing around his head, but being back in the real world, talking with Jade like he usually did was bringing him back to reality.

Jade stuck her tongue at him.

"Its not just that though…" she looked at the floor, a weary, saddened expression washing over her features. "Ever since Prospit… I don't like sleeping as much as I used to. I miss exploring the moon, and being with the people there. Everything was so bright and golden and pretty! I had friends there and I really enjoyed gazing into the clouds and watching history in the making. Prospit was like my second home, I've been a part of it my entire life. But now its gone…"

A sigh escaped her lips as she kicked her feet around the cement floor. Her eyes had lost their brightness when she looked back up at John, and he felt a small pang of sympathy for the young girl next to him.  
"Now when I sleep I have bad dreams. I dream of home, and everything is on fire, and my Granddad is burning up with my house. And then I see Jack, high in the sky, and he is laughing at me because Im stuck on the ground, and the fire is getting closer. I always try to call out to Bec to come and save me, but he never comes, and then I wake up. Sometimes I wake up crying."

John sat in silence, stunned and saddened by the words coming from Jade. He had always pictured her as a lively, happy-go-lucky type of person, always positive and optimistic. To sit here and hear about her nightmares, and to see how she was being affected by everything that had happened to the four friends was very disheartening. He was just about the move his arm around her shoulders when she seemed to snap out of the dark mood looming over the pair. Jumping to her feet, she whirled around to face him, a wide smile once again in place on her lips.

"But they are just dreams right John? Not real!" taking his hand, she pulled John to his feet. "Now come, I've been busy while you've been sleeping, you lazy head!" she winked playfully and began dragging him towards the door.

"Woah Jade, slow down!" John tripped over his feet in his haste to keep up, and almost fell flat on his face. Jade giggled behind her hand.

She led him down a corridor, twisting and turning their way through the bowels of the ship in comfortable silence. John took the opportunity to mull over everything Jade had told him back in the sleeping room.

"Jade," A thought had occurred to him as he stepped through yet another old and rusted doorway. "You said that you don't like sleeping because you dream? But don't you visit the dream bubbles when you sleep? Like, get caught up in a memory, and then get to talk with the others?"

Jade stopped walking and turned to stare quizzically at John, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Dream bubbles? What are you talking about John?"

"Well, remember a while back, Feferi said she was talking to some kind of God or something, and arranged to set up things called Dream Bubbles, so that the people either separated from each other, or dead, could meet up again in their dreams?"

Jade chewed on her lower lip, narrowing her eyes slightly trying to recall hearing this before.

"Now that you mention it, that does sound kind of familiar… What about them?"

"Well, when I was asleep just now, I was in a dream bubble… I was dreaming that I was back in my old room, years ago, packing up a present for your birthday actually, when Vriska started trolling me through my computer. I remember being annoyed at her at first, because back then she and the rest of them were just annoying trolls, but then the conversation didn't end the way it was meant to, and Vriska said that we were in a dream bubble. And then she showed up outside my house!"

"Oh!" Jade gasped in wonderment at what she was hearing. "How did she do that? How does she even know where your house is?"

"It didn't matter, because it was a dream, I guess. So then, she came inside and we were talking." The memory of their conversation in his bedroom drifted through his mind, bringing with it the feelings that she evoked inside him. He shifted his weight nervously.

"She said that I must have been asleep, and that she was dead. And I guess we just talked about what had been happening lately, and the dream bubbles." He was not about to go into detail of the tension that had developed thick and sultry between the two of them. Just thinking about it sent pleasurable chills down his spine. If he was to go running his mouth to Jade about it, he was sure it would make the next three years considerably awkward.

"Oh no! Vriska is dead? Well that's a shame then.." They started moving again at a slower pace, their footsteps almost somber against the stained and hollow floor. "I mean, I didn't really get a chance to know her personally, but weren't the two of you quite close?"

"Well, I wouldn't say we were _close_," John felt his face flush slightly, and was thankful for the dim lighting in the corridor. "But we did talk quite a bit. She helped me through most of the game. And for a while there I was starting to really consider her as a friend." He paused for a moment, remembering that conversation that seemed so long ago. He shook his head. "But she never said anything about, what do they call them? Red feelings or something?"  
"Oh, yes, red feelings… with their strange quadrant system of romance. I never fully understood any of that."

"Neither, except red feelings are something to do with love, and black feelings are something to do with hate. I doubt she liked me like that I mean… whatever."

Jade gave him another of her quizzical looks before pressing on through the final door. In this room, she had set up somewhat of a makeshift computer lab, with a whole assortment of different desktops, laptops and headsets spliced together with seemingly ridiculous items.

"Ta Da!" Jade beamed around at the room, chock full of salamanders and chess people, all nakking and chatting amongst themselves. "I knew carrying so many computers around with me would come in handy one day!"

"Oh wow Jade, this is fantastic! Ill never doubt your over cautiousness again."

"Yo dude!" a familiar voice cut through the naks and narks of the various creatures, as DaveSprite floated towards them. DaveSprite had been with JadeSprite on one of the planets that Jade had captchalogued after reaching GodTier and gaining her Witch of Space powers, which meant he was stuck on the navy ship for three years with Jade, John and their assortment of guests. Not that anyone was complaining of course. DaveSprite was just as cool as the Alpha Dave, and three years with him would surely be interesting.

"DaveSprite, man, how you doing?" John fist bumped his old pal warmly in greeting. It had been a while since the two of them had talked, and it was good to see the floating orange spirit again.

"Yeah bro, chill as. Not too _enthused_ about all this racket though." He looked around at the crowd of amphibians in the room with a furrowed sprite-brow. "But hey, its only what, like, three years? No sweat."

"Nah man, they are actually pretty cool once you get used to them. I had a little salamander helper back on one of those planets. Her name was Casey, and she was pretty savvy in all this crazy."

"I like them too!" Jade piped in, her bubbly voice chiming musically. "They are quite cute and playful. And the chess people are really friendly! I used to play with them a lot on Prospit…" She trailed off at the mention of her old second home, now floating in pieces through a doomed universe. There was an awkward moment of silence between the three friends before Jade regained her usual chipper attitude with a clap of her hands.

"Well, I don't know about you two, but all this work has tired me out. I'm ready for a nap. Help yourselves to the computers and over through the door over there is a kind of kitchen I suppose. Make yourselves at home!" and with a dazzling smile, she turned on her heel and headed back towards the bunkers.

* * *

Tavros was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling above his bed. Vriska wasn't at the hive, she rarely was these days, and he was home alone again, left to entertain himself in whatever way he could think of. Usually he would sit and carve out patterns and shapes from notches of wood, or continue work recreating cards and pieces from his old games he used to play back at his childhood hive. Today though, he was feeling too whimsical to really busy himself with anything other than his thoughts.

Pieces of his conversation with Gamzee floated around his mind, and he found himself thinking about Vriskas hair-brained plan, and his own involvement with it. While it was true he didn't really _want_ to be involved, he just couldn't work up the courage to say no to her. Besides, he also knew that if he resisted, she would just force him into it, and he hated it when she did that. Having a psychopathic spider girl crawling around in your brain was _not_ a pleasant experience.

Urgh, Vriska made him so mad! Tavros imagined that he could feel his alter-ego Rufio rising up inside his chest, ready and willing to break free and show that horrid little troll what for. He would tell her all the things that Tavros couldn't, and he would make her pay for his senseless murder, and _he _would be the one in control of _her_ for once. He may even be so confident and strong the she wouldn't be able to permeate his brain and control him any more! Then together, Tavros and Rufio would rule the hive, and the dream bubbles, and anything else that presented itself to the unstoppable duo!

_"…if I were you, I'd call on that wimpy sack of crap Rufio to 8ack me up. Oh w8, you cant. 8ecause Rufio is a fakey fake fakster!"_

Vriskas words from earlier floated through Tavros' mind, and his day dream splintered and dissolved back into nothingness. Deep down, under the bravado of those thoughts, he knew that it would never happen. Rufio really wasn't real, and there was nothing that Tavros could do to make him any less fake, something that Vriska was well aware of, and did not hesitate to use to her advantage. Instead, Tavros reserved himself to a life on the back burner, always in the shadows, hardly ever seen, and very rarely heard.

He sighed and rolled over onto his side in the pile of dried out branches and twigs he had collected from around the hive. He figured they made a slightly less uncomfortable bedding place than just a flat piece of board. Nuzzling into the leaves, he inhaled the sent of the woods, and thought back to his old planet, living in his little hive with Tinkerbull on the cliff, remembering the sound of the ocean lapping against the rocks. Oh how he missed the old life. The carefree days of being a child troll, playing make-believe with his friends and aspiring to be like the great adventurer Pupa Pan. He may have always been quite and somewhat shy, but he was also cunning, and highly intelligent.

_iF ONLY VRISKA cOULD SEE THAT aBOUT ME. tHEN MAYBE sHE WOULD RESPECT mE A LITTLE BIT MORE._

He took a moment to entertain the thought of receiving respect from the ever-judging troll girl. He imagined her treating him like an equal instead of the inferior little wriggler that she saw him as. The weakling, the runt of the litter. No. Instead, she would talk _to_ him, and not _at_ and _over_ him. She would _listen_ to him and not just wait until his voice faltered enough to barge over. She would return to the hive and greet him like an equal instead of simply casting him a disgusted look before sauntering into her room. Things would be different around here, and afterlife would be that much sweeter for him.

He rolled onto his back again while imagining Vriska walking through the door of the hive, intending to enact the scenario of her treating him like an equal in his head, but accidently knocked one of his large, curved horns against a protruding branch instead. Sharp, warm ripples of sensation jolted down its length, startling Tavros out of his day dreams with a hissing intake of breath. Troll horns are very sensitive, and tingling after shocks continued to gently pulse down into his skull as Tavros relaxed back against the foliage. If he were to be honest, he would say he was actually quite enjoying the sensation.

Once again, he closed his eyes and his mind returned to the scenario he was creating before he hit his horn. He imagined Vriska kicking off her boots in the doorway, and smiling broadly at him across the room. He imagined her perfect white fangs highlighted against those full, black lips, and he allowed himself to remember the sparkle he always saw in her eyes during their games of Flarp. Absent mindedly, he lifted one hand to the spot where his horn had impacted with the branch, and began to massage it gently, sending more spikes of light pleasure down into his head.

His breathing deepened as he imagined her walking over to him, her hips swaying side to side with each step, in a hypnotizing rhythm that made her luscious hair swing lightly over her back. She held his gaze as the distance between them slowly closed; a _come hither_ gleam reflected at him eight fold from her eyes. He would stand to meet her, his back against the wall, and he would stand tall and proud, her equal for once.

He smiled to himself at the thought, his massaging hand increasing in pressure enough to send tantalizing waves all the way down his spine. Instinctively, he bucked his hips ever so slightly up off the makeshift bed as the unfamiliar but ever-recognizable feeling of arousal spread its warmth through his body in waves that matched the gentle pulse of his growing bulge. Slowly, his free hand made its way down across his chest to the waist band of his trousers, leaving trails of sensation dancing across his heated skin.

In his mind, he imagined Vriska holding his gaze, her face moving agonisingly slowly closer to his, until their lips were grazing against each other, and he could feel her warm breath on his skin. He shuddered and moaned quietly at the memory of her lips on his, all those weeks ago after he had crashed through the wall of her hive. And that dress! His hand curled around his forming length as he remembered the taste of that kiss, and the sight of her wrapped in such thin, delicate cloth, her curvaceous, beautiful body only barely hidden away from his hungry eyes. His fingers started to move over his sex as he imagined deepening the kiss, knotting his fingers in her hair and snaking one arm around her waist to pull her closer to him. His horns were well and truly alive with pleasurable sensation as he scratched and pulled at the tips with one hand, while the other squeezed and shocked him beneath the thin material of his pants. His breathe came in ragged gasps and his mouth salivated at the picture of the dress falling away from her to reveal her perfect, ashen grey skin. His hips and legs bucked as he moaned her name, _Vriska_, almost reaching his climax at the image of her pinned beneath him, her eyes locked on his, her bare naked body shivering and rocking in pleasure as she sighed his name in his ear…

"Tavros?"

_Oh yes…_

"Tavros? What the fuck are you doing?"

_FUCK!_

His eyes flew open in shock and horror, his mouth going slack at the sight of Vriska standing stock still in the doorway, eyes wide and staring at the scene in front of her. There was a moment of awkward silence before Tavros pulled himself together enough to yank his hands out of his pants and away from his horns.

"V-VRISKA!? You're... you're back uhm... already?" he hastily re-zipped his fly and fumbled with his belt buckle, his fingers shaking heavily, totally mortified at being caught out. Vriska visibly relaxed, and she pressed her lips together tightly in an attempt to hide her amused smile.

"Well I could go out again? I mean, you seem preeeeeeeetty busy here…" the humour in her voice was hardly contained, and Tavros blanched as he sat up on the edge of his bed.

"B-b-busy? Me? N-no, Im uhmm… no-noy really u-up to much my-myself um..." He tried to feign nonchalance, and failed miserably. His cheeks flamed a rich chocolate brown, and his voice faltered. He picked at a branch, trying to seem casual, but instead created an avalanche of leaves and twigs that spilled over onto the floor. Following it with his eyes, he noticed the still swirling tips of his bulge were just visible above the waist band of his pants. He let out a slight choke, and in his panicked hurry to cover his shame, accidently punched himself in the crotch. Vriskas stifled giggle carried easily across the room from where she gently swayed in the doorway, trying to hide her mouth behind her hand. Tavros just cowered beneath her gaze, a grimace flashing across his brown flushed face.

"Well, if you're sure little Pupa..." she winked and turned to leave the room. Just before she shut the door however, she turned back to Tavros, her wicked smile plastered wide across her face.

"Just, try to keep it down ok? You were screaming my name so loudly, Im surprised the hive is still standing." And with a wink and a flick of her long hair, she shut the door and let silence settle over the room.

Tavros sat on the edge of his bed, completely and absolutely mortified. Had he really been screaming Vriskas name? Oh Jegus… Oh Jegus, oh Jegus, oh Gog, fuck damnit…

With a defeated groan, he fell back into his leaf pile, burying himself and his shame in the musky, rotten branches.


	6. Chapter Four: The Boil

CHAPTER FOUR  
THE BOIL

"What the actual fuck are you babbling about, you moronic clown?" Karkat couldn't believe what he was hearing from his new found Moirail. John Egbert, stage a mutiny? Could there be anything more completely and outrageously stupid?

"That's what he motherfucking told me brother." Gamzee had just recited to Karkat what Tavros had told him, and as he had expected, the cancer troll was not taking it well.

"Oh, I get it. So some dead guy came to you in a fucking dream, and told you that some other psychotic dead bitch told him that she was told by an ignoramus of a human in _another _fucking dream that he was going to murder my arse and take over as the failed fucking leader of a pointless game that doesn't even matter any more? Stop the fucking presses! Quick! Someone hide me for the next three Goddamn years so that I don't get fucking _pranked_ to death or some shit by that pesky little human wriggler! Whats he gonna do? Blow me off the meteor with his stupid windy powers?"

"Calm, brother," Gamzee stepped closer to Karkat, halting his rant by placing his giant hands around the smaller trolls shoulders, and gently massaging the tense muscles. "I don't believe a motherfucker either, but one has to motherfucking think about what a certain spider girl would be all up to."

Karkat shrugged away from the clowns touch, uncomfortable with the contact. But Gamzee had a point; what _was_ Vriska up to?

"I don't even give a flying fuck. Shes _dead_ for crying out loud, how much harm could a dead girl do? What even _is_ a dead girl? A ghost? Are you saying Vriskas fucking _ghost_ came and haunted your useless clown arse in your sleep..?" Gamzee sighed as Karkat exploded on yet another one of his rants. The short tempered group leader was notorious for his ridiculous ramblings, not to mention his atrocious language. It was easier just to let him rampage around for a while until he calmed himself down than to try and reason with him. So Gamzee took the opportunity to think over the possibilities himself. What _could_ Vriska be up to? What would be the point in trying to pit John and Karkat against each other?

"Look Karkat, chill the fuck out. Eat a pie or something."

"Oh, because _that's_ just a swell idea! 'Hey Karkat, theres some imbecile plotting against you and trying to murder you, and you have to figure out what the shit is going on before you end up in a pile of dead shit, but hey, lets eat this fucking slime pie and get high as an Earth kite! That's sure to fix all your problems! Fuck Gamzee, lets do this shit, go get me a God awful slime pie or some Faygo shit, let's just get high as a mother fucker, and leave the damn problem to someone else!"

Gamzee laid his hand over Karkats face, shooshing the troll into slightly horrified silence.  
"The fuck Gamzee, get your giant juggelo hand off my face! God knows where that things been!"

"Lets think about this rationally bro. Theres some kind of motherfucking conspiracy going on all up in this bitch, and Vriska is behind it. What motherfucking reasons would she have for stirring up some rivalry shit between you and the windy boy?"

"I don't know! Maybe shes pissed coz shes dead, that seems like a damn reasonable excuse for going bat-shit crazy and fucking with shit."

"Whos going bat-shit crazy this time?" a voice cut in from behind them. Turning, they watched as two more of the remaining inhabitants of the meteor entered the room, looking quizzically at Karkat.

"Who do you goddamn think?." He scowled deeply across the room as Rose and Kanaya drew closer, seating themselves between Gamzee and the raging troll. "Vriska. Even when she's dead she wont leave us the fuck alone!"  
"What's she doing, and how?" Kanayas soothing voice calmed Karkat down, if only marginally. He took a deep breath.

"Well, Gamzee here has just told me that the time he had a shitty nap in that horrendous horn pile, he talked to Tavros, who is also dead by the fucking way, and Tavros told him that _Vriska_ told _him_ to tell Gamzee that John had told _her_ in another stupid fucking dream that he was planning a mutiny or some shit that involves killing me and usurping me as the failed Goddamn leader of the entire pointless failed game."

There was a pause as Rose and Kanaya tried to comprehend the dribble that just escaped Karkats mouth. Even though he was usually hard to understand, sometimes what he said just didn't make sense.

Gamzee cleared his throat and tried again.

"What a motherfucker is trying to say is that according to our dead friend Vriska, John motherfucking Egbert is planning on offing Karkat here to take over as supreme motherfucker of the rest of us."

"That certainly doesn't sound like John," Rose mused, her brow furrowing in disapproval. "Which means the most likely explanation is Vriska is trying to stir up trouble. But why?"

"How the fucking fuck should we know? She's a psychopathic dead ghost girl, probably bored shitless in the after life, and being driven mind numbing mad by Tavros! This is exactly the kind of mind control shit we could expect from her when she was still alive for fucks sake, and I don't know about you little shits, but I for one do not expect a little thing like death to get in the way of her stupid obsessive compulsion to exact revenge, even when that revenge doesn't make even the slightest inkling of actual sense."

"Karkat has a motherfucking point." Gamzee agreed, absently picking at one of the three deep scratches that ran across his face. Rose nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes, I agree. Revenge does seem like Vriskas kind of thing, but then it would make more sense for her to go up against Terezi instead of Karkat, seeing as how it was Terezi that killed her."

"Maybe this goes deeper than we think?"

"I don't give a fuck how deep this shit runs! As far as I am concerned, this whole thing is a useless shitstorm created by a selfish fuckarse with the mental capacity of a three day old wriggler, and we shouldn't be paying any attention to it. The more we play into her shitty conniving hands, the more shes going to fucking stir our shit up."

Kanaya, who had stayed silent for the duration of the conversation, nodded in agreement with Karkat, and spoke up with her opinion.

"I agree with Karkat on this, to an extent. Lets just go about our business, but keep an eye and an ear out for any more news. I know its very unexpected, but we cant completely rule out the possibility that what Tavros said is true. As far as I know, no one on this meteor is in contact with either John or Jade. Anything could be happening where ever they are."

"Oh that's just great Kanaya, perfect in fact!" Karkat cut her off with a wave of his hand, agitation showing clearly on his face. "Im going to take a wild guess and say that John and Jade are holed up somewhere gathering an insane army of fucking rocks or some horseshit getting ready to pummel us all to bloody death the instant we show our unsuspecting faces so that the two of them can go and face that shit eating Bec Noir by themselves! Fuck, I know they are stupid and useless, but I didn't pick them as suicidal."

Kanaya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between two elegant fingers.

"That's not what I'm saying Karkat, I just think we should be wary, that's all."

"Kanayas right Karkat," Rose held up a hand to stop the next onslaught of rage waiting to burst out of the insufferable troll. "We should just keep an ear open. Knowing Vriska, she would have something more planned, if this whole thing _is_ some trick of hers."

"Fuck this stupid shit." Karkat shook his head and pulled himself to his feet, looking around at his friends in disgust. "If you all want to take this horseshit seriously, be my guests. As far as Im concerned, this whole thing is a steaming pot of shit soup, brewed by a homicidal dead maniac who's bored shitless in the after life and pissed because she died before she had the chance to fuck her own shit up. Now, if you'll excuse me, Im going to go find a nice big rock to hide under for the next three goddamn years so some little human wriggler cant kill me with his stupid, lame jokes or some shit."

With that, Karkat stomped out of the room, leaving his three friends to whatever bullshit theories they wanted to entertain amongst themselves.

_HOW THE FUCKING FUCK COULD ANY OF THEM TAKE THIS SHIT SERIOUSLY?_

Karkat shoved his hands deep in his pockets as he wandered the halls of the asteroid, thinking back over the conversation he had just left. So apparently John was planning on murdering him? He seriously doubted it. That little earth human could hardly kill an imp, let alone someone he considered a _friend_. Urgh, just thinking of that human emotion used to describe the relationship between the two of them made Karkat shiver in disgust. There was no one he despised more than that shit-for-brains flesh pile, and from what he could tell about the human emotion of "friendship," it was something he wanted to steer as far away from as possible.

On the other hand, if John had actually meant it when he had said he considered Karkat a friend, then why would he now turn around and try to kill him?

_BECAUSE IT'S ALL A LOAD OF BULLSHIT YOU FUCKING MORON._

Karkat shook his head, ran his hand through his hair and decided what he really needed was to take a nap. All this gallivanting about solving all types of murders, conspiracies and possible plots was finally catching up to him.

He made his way down a seemingly endless flight of stairs, opting to go as deep down into the meteor as possible to stay away from any more commotion and chaos the remaining group decided to stir up. Karkat Vantas didn't nap often, but when he did, he napped _hard_, and he'd be a wrigglers shitty fucking arsehole before he'd let anyone disturb his peace.

Finally, he reached a doorway branching off the staircase, and hung a left into a long dark hall lined with ominous looking steel doors. Not that he cared about the ominous part. If there was anything else on this God-forsaken rock with them, he's sure it would have made its presence known right around the time trolls started killing each other. That shit was all shades of loud and obnoxious. He pushed his way into the first room he reached, more than ready to collapse onto the floor and pass out in whatever position he landed. Which, incidentally, is exactly what he did.

CG: WHATEVER.

CG: JUST GET YOUR ARSE IN HERE SO WE CAN DETHRONE THIS GODDAMN QUEEN.

CG: IT'LL MEAN ONE LESS GOD BOSS WE HAVE TO FIGHT.

AG: Fine, I'll 8e right there.

AG: Just try not to lose too much of your mystery 8lood and die.

Vriska rolled her neck and licked her lips, preparing for the game to being. Now that the memory had played out, she would be able to talk with Karkat freely, and plant just the right ideas in his head to _really_ start his side of her plan in motion. All she had to do was wait for his signal.

As if on queue, Karkats next message came through her computer.

CG: WAIT JUST A GODDAMN MINUTE.

CG: I SWEAR TO GOD, IM NOT PLAYING THIS GAME ALL THE FUCK OVER AGAIN.

CG: WHAT THE ACTUAL SHIT IS GOING ON?

AG: Aaaaaaaah, here we go :::;)

AG: Hi Karkat! Enjoying still 8eing alive?

CG: OH FUCK ME STUPID AND SENSELESS THIS IS ONE OF THOSE DREAM BUBBLE THINGS ISNT IT?

CG: AND YOURE THE DEAD PSYCHOPATH SHIT STIRRING ALL MY ALIVE SHIT UP.

AG: Well, I wouldn't say psychopath.

AG: And what Im supposedly stirring isn't shit.

AG: Cant a girl look out for her 8uddies?

CG: OK ONE, IM NOT YOUR BUDDY.

CG: TWO, THE ONLY TROLL YOURE LOOKING THE FUCK OUT FOR IS YOURSELF. MAINLY BECAUSE YOURE A SOCOPATHIC SELFISH BITCHFACE OF A MOTHERFUCKER HELL BENT ON FUCKING VENGANCE.

CG: AND THREE, I DON'T GIVE A FUCK WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY BECAUSE AFTER ALL THE GOD AWEFUL SHIT YOU PULLED OUT HERE, I DON'T BELIEVE A GODDAMN, BLUE-HUED WORD THAT COMES FROM YOUR DEAD GHOST GIRL GRUBHOLE.

AG: I see you still know how to talk in the presence of a lady :::;)

CG: A LADY? I SEE NO LADY HERE. JUST A MOTHERFUCKING AWESOME LEADER TRYING TO GET HIS NAP ON IN PEACE, AND A DEAD GHOST BOTHERING HIM AND MAKING HIM EVEN MORE AMAZINGLY ANGRY THAN HE ALREADY WAS IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE.

CG: JUST TELL ME WHAT THE SHIT YOU WANT AND LEAVE ME ALONE TO NAP FOR THE NEXT THREE FUCKING YEARS.

CG: GOD YOU HAVE NO ACUAL IDEA HOW RIDICULOUSLY DRAINING IT WAS TO TRY AND LEAD SUCH A USELESS GROUP OF IMBECILES TO APPARENT DOOM.

AG: Well, if you ask me, I would say that it would have 8een more draining spending all of that time arguing with your past and future selves than to try and so-called "lead" us to victory.

CG: JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET TO THE POINT.

CG: WHATS THIS ABOUT JOHN TURNING INTO A TROLL-RAMBO OR WHAT THE FUCK EVER?

AG: That's what ive 8een tryyyyyyyying to tell you Karkat. 8eing dead and all, I have the a8ility to wander around in these dream 8u88les and talk to everyone yes?

AG: And I've 8een visiting John a lot, coz you know, me and him click.

AG: Anyway, in one of my visits, he was telling me a8out how much hes 8een thinking over the situ8ion and the game and how 8adly everything kinda went for us trolls.

CG: THE ONLY FUCKING REASON ANY OF IT WENT BADLY IS BECAUSE NONE OF YOU MORONS LISTENED TO ME.

AG: Honestly Karkat, most of us are pretty impressed that you can even listen to yourself :::;)

AG: Anyway, he came to the conclusion that it was 8ecause of youre poor leadership that the game was a dud. He figures that he was the leader of the humans, and they actually did alright, so 8y that logic, if he was to take over the position of leader of the whole group, then may8e we still have a chance of 8eating this thing.

CG: THIS IS ALL A STEAMING LOAD OF RANCID HORSESHIT. DOES HE NOT REALISE THAT THE GAME IS OVER?

CG: THERE IS NO BEATING THIS GAME ANY MORE.

CG: THE GAME BEAT US TO A BLOODY STINKING PULPY PILE OF GRUB INFESTED TROLL SHIT.

CG: ITS LIKE WE WERE FUCKING ROACHES SCURRYING AROUND THE GAMES ROTTEN FOOD TRUNK AND THE GAME SMOOSHED US ALL INTO THE DISGUSTING GROUND ONE BY FUCKING ONE.

CG: AND ALL THAT'S LEFT OF US IS SOME SMEARED STAIN ON THE GODDAMN FLOOR THAT SMELLS LIKE SOMEONE LIT GAMZEES FUCKING ARSE ON FIRE.

AG: John doesn't think so. He thinks it can still 8e won.

AG: And frankly Karkat, youre the only one who smells like Gamzees flaming arsehole.

CG: FUCK YOU

CG: I DON'T ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT GAMZEES ARSE SMELLS LIKE, AND I DON'T PLAN ON FINDING OUT ANY TIME SOON.

AG: Well, Ive done all I can do, its now up to you whether or not you use this knowledge to your advantage.

AG: As for me, I have to get 8ack to the hive to make sure Tore8ore hasn't 8urnt the place down or something.

AG: Laters Karkat :::;)

arachnidsGrip [AG] ceased trolling carcinoGeneticist [CG]


	7. Chapter 5: Seeing Red

Chapter Five

Seeing Red

Weeks passed, or so John told her, and Vriska let things settle down, let the players in her game get comfortable again thinking that she had just been leading them on with stupid, half hearted attempts to pit them against each other; which is exactly what she wanted them to think. Karkat and the other trolls on the meteor were not her priority at this point. She knew that it was pointless trying to get them to believe a word she said without further evidence to back up her statements, and simply having Tavros lie to them on her behalf was not enough to put them on edge. No, her real target was John. She focused on gaining his trust, and getting him to eat out of the palm of her hand. A task that was proving all too easy for the master of manipulation.

Each time she met him in his dreams, they would talk and talk, exploring the boundaries of the dream bubbles, testing just how far into each others memories they could go. He showed her places in his home world that she would never have imagined possible, and she did the same for him. They lay for hours on end, suspended in time and space, in their own private universe created by just the two of them, and discussed everything possible; from personal experiences, to philosophies and adventures. Over time, a real friendship started to form between the two personalities, and the bond between them grew stronger and stronger. Before too long, Vriska felt confident enough to move into phase two of her plan.

They were both sitting on the floor of Vriskas room in her old hive, talking about her Flarping days, and all the misadventures she and her role playing sister Terezi had gotten up to. In particular, the day that Vriska had found her ancestors journal, and how that had affected her life from that point forward.

"I mean, I had always imagined my ancestor to be a strong, independent troll, large on the adventure part of life, and not taking shit from any other troll that crossed her path you know?" She mused, sitting with her back against the wall, staring at the ceiling.  
"Much like you, you mean?" She could hear Johns playful smile in his words, and she kicked him lightly, smiling back.

"You think Im strong and independent do you?" She allowed just a little bit of flirtation to enter her voice, glancing at John from under her long eye lashes tauntingly.

"Yep. And you don't take shit from no one." He paused, almost hesitantly, before scooting just a little bit closer to her, until their shoulders were almost touching. "You're probably the bravest, smartest, strongest troll I know. The bravest, smartest, strongest _person_ I know really, including everyone I knew before this game destroyed my universe…" Vriska noted with glee the slight hint of bashfulness that had leaked its way into Johns voice. She blinked slowly up at him, turning her body ever so slightly towards him in a way she knew would emphasize her curves. She was aiming to tempt him.

"Surely you don't mean that… Someone like you would have known an awful lot of people…"

Johns cheeks flamed a light pink at her words, and he swallowed lightly behind parted lips.

"I guess I knew a few… But I stand by it. You are the best one of them all." He couldn't stop his eyes from scanning quickly over the creature in front of him. The familiar feeling of attraction he always felt in Vriskas presence was slowly creeping over him again, brought about by the sheer proximity between them at that moment. If he was to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that over the course of the last few weeks, he had been developing quite strong feelings for the girl, but had been far too shy to act upon them.

"You're much to kind to me, John Egbert." Vriska almost sighed his name, her tongue flicking swiftly over her bottom lip, and one hand idly skimming up over her hip, her fingertips dancing over the thin material of her light top. She heard his soft intake of breath, and purposefully shifted positions again so that she could move even closer to him while making it seem nonchalant. He was but a fly in her web, and she, the spider, was closing in to seal his fate.

"You know John," she dropped her gaze to slowly look him over, her voice thick and heavy with seduction. "These past few weeks have been… a lot of fun, with you. With just the two of us. I feel like I've gotten to see a whole other side of you, one that I never knew existed and… well, lets just say, I'm rather enjoying your company." She raised her eyes back to his, and held his gaze from under her lashes. He was well and truly spell bound by now, his mouth slack, and his breathing almost ragged. With a swift flick of her fingers, she pulled the hem of her top up to reveal just a hint of the tight grey skin over her hip bone, and John could not stop himself from drinking up the sight of her exposed flesh.

"But," Vriska continued, pretending not to notice the effect she was having on him. "I think we could enjoy each others company… a little bit more. If you want to of course."

There was a small pause as her words settled in to Johns mind. Was she really saying what he thought she was saying? What else could she possibly mean? His head was swimming with her words, but she was gazing into his eyes, clearly waiting patiently for him to say something. He swallowed dryly before replying.

"Well, um… what exactly did you… h-have in mind?"

Vriska chuckled under her breath, her eyes flashing mischievously. Before he knew what was happening, Vriska had straddled him, pushing his shoulders back against the wall, her eyes locked on his only inches from his face. He felt his face flame under her gaze.

Holding his eyes with hers, she slowly leaned closer until her mouth was at his ear, and her eyelashes tickled softly against his burning cheek.

"Well, I thought we could get a little more… _acquainted_ with each other. Im not sure how much you know about troll romance, but I have to admit that I've been feeling rather red for you John Egbert."

Her voice alone made him melt just a little inside. He didn't know how she could make it so soft and caressing, yet also thick and heady at the same time. All he really knew was that he would do anything this voice told him to do. He was at her mercy, and they both knew it.

"Y-yes…" was all he could manage to stammer out, as he felt her warm tongue flick lightly over his ear lobe. He instinctively bucked his hips off the floor ever so slightly, and felt the pleasing sensation of his arousal against the inner apex of her thighs. His hands found their way to her hips, which were slowly grinding against the bulge in his pants, making his breath come quicker, and a small moan build in the back of his throat.

Her voice was back in his ear.

"I want you John Egbert."

Suddenly, she pulled back from him, grasping his arms just below the shoulders to pin him against the wall. She held him at arms length for an immeasurable moment, unmasked desire flaming in her eyes and she drank him in. In one graceful swoop, he found her lips against his, moving fast and strong and passionate, in synch with her grinding hips. Her tongue forced its way into his mouth, and he willingly obliged to her command as her hands shifted down to the waistband of his jeans. His own hands found their way up her torso, lifting her shirt over her head. He took the momentary pause to rake his gaze over her half naked body, his hands exploring her curves, running lightly over her perfect ashen skin. She allowed him to admire her for just a moment, unable to suppress the smug grin on her face. She knew exactly what effect her body had on others, and she knew exactly how to use it to her advantage.

Before too long, Johns mouth had found its way back to hers, and this time she let his tongue do the exploring. He felt the sharp points of her fangs, and the slight prick of pain they caused set his senses on fire.

Without even realizing it had happened, John found that his own shirt was discarded as well when Vriska pressed her now fully naked torso against his. His eyes widened in shock at the touch of her skin on his, and his desire for the girl went into over drive. He frantically tore at the button of her jeans, fumbling with the zip until the waistband hung loose from her slender hips.

Raising an eyebrow at him playfully, Vriska pushed herself backwards off of him, lying back on the floor to wiggle out of her jeans. John lifted himself to his knees, now towering over her where she lay in just her lace panties, her hair fanned out above her, and her chest heaving in time to her passionate breathing. She was a sight to behold, laid out in front of him like a tantalizing buffet just begging to be devoured, and he took a moment to admire her, his breathing erratic and shallow. He shyly, awkwardly climbed over her, propping himself up with his fore arms either side of her shoulders, his mouth finding hers once more. Her nails dragged gently down through his shoulder blades, making his back arch in pleasure.

Vriska made quick work of his jean button, sliding the fabric over his limbs to the floor, so he was left in only his thin boxer briefs. John blushed furiously as she raked her gaze over his body, a hungry look in her eyes. This was really happening, and he was extremely nervous. He swallowed dryly, his heart beating a pounding rhythm in his chest.

"Vriska… I…" he pulled back, eyes darting around to room, looking at anything but the beauty laid beneath him. "Well, I… I've never actually… You know… This is…" His words were cut off when Vriska laid a delicate finger over his lips. She smiled sweetly, propping herself up on her elbows, blinking slowly at the shaking human.

"It's ok John, I know." She kissed him slowly, lightly, making him shake with anticipation. Her hands found the tops of his briefs, and his stomach lurched as she slipped her fingers beneath the band, her touch lighting his skin on fire. A strangled moan of pleasure escaped his lips as she wrapped her hand around his length, squeezing gently, her slender fingers slowly massaging in a steady beat.

John, overwhelmed with the new and exciting sensations spreading through his body, awkwardly wriggled out of his briefs, leaving him naked on top of her. His mind was racing, but his body was too over taken with pleasure and feeling to allow him to grasp any coherent thought. All he could focus on was getting more of Vriska, her lips, her smell, her taste, her skin. He was starving for her, desperate to satisfy the hunger; a hunger she was all too willing to feed.

In one swift movement, Vriska had rolled them over, so she was straddling him, hands placed either side of his head, lips still locked on his. Before he knew what was happening, her panties had disappeared, and a shocked yelp had escaped his mouth as she pressed their hips together. He pushed back on her shoulders, wide eyes searching for the cause of such an indescribable sensation, and his mouth fell open at what he found.

John had never seen a fully naked human girl before, but at least he knew what to expect, so the grey, tentacle-like protrusions snaking their way over his skin were somewhat alarming. He's body jerked beneath her in shock and his back lurched off the ground, but Vriska took control, grinding their hips together and pinning his shoulders to the ground, sending waves of pure pleasure through his body. A moan escaped his lips as he bucked his hips against hers, the sensation of her onslaught filling his mind as their bodies rocked together in blissful harmony.

Vriska threw her head back with a soft cry, eyes closed, nails digging into Johns chest, causing him to moan in response. Every thrust she gave drove John deeper into her, and soon the feeling of him filling her caused stars to appear behind her eyelids. With every pin prick of light to appear, her rhythm increased, building them up, taking them higher and higher into the throws of pleasure. Johns hands were on her hips, forcing her movements to get harder, stronger, and his back arched off the ground as he called out her name, bringing them closer and closer to the edge of pure bliss.

With a cry, he exploded within her, filling her, his fingers digging into her hips, his eyes wide and blinking rapidly as a rainbow of colours flashed before him. Never had he felt so wild, so full of sensation, his senses heightened to such immense levels of feeling that he could hardly stand it. His breathing came and went in shallow gasps, ripping in and out of his chest as he felt Vriska fall apart around him, falling forward so her hair swept across his flushed face. Her eyes were closed, her sharp fangs biting down on her lower lip, and to John, she was a vision of pure perfection. Vriska fell forward, lying on Johns chest, and together, they were swept away by the blissful river of satisfaction, skin touching skin, mind touching mind.

The moment was immeasurable, perfect, with only the sound of their breathing to break the silence. John twist his fingers into Vriskas hair as she rested her head on his shoulder, eyes closed, a satisfied smile on her lips. He didn't want this moment to end, didn't want to move or say anything to bring them back to reality. All he wanted was to lie like that forever, with Vriska in his arms, her soft breath warming the skin of his chest, he hand resting lightly on his shoulder. He crossed his free arm behind his head, and gazed down at her in awe and wonder, and it that moment he knew he loved her.

As if sensing his eyes on the top of her head, Vriska looked up at John and caught his gaze, smiling sweetly at her prey. The sight of him looking so enraptured by her, so innocent and venerable, almost made her feel sorry for the poor boy, completely unaware of what he was getting into. But she had bigger things to worry about than just one naïve human, and she had work to do elsewhere. She ran the hand resting on his other shoulder slowly down his chest, and lightly trailed kisses up his neck until her lips met his in a slow, gentle rhythm. He responded eagerly, hungry for her taste. Too soon, she pulled back to look at him, his eyes wide, his cheeks a soft pink.

"How are you feeling John?" a coy smile played on her mouth, her teeth gently biting at her lower lip, her eyes all long lashes and honesty. John inhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair.

"I'm… well… that was… wow…" his voice shook and all he could really do was grin at her, lost for words, still caught in the afterglow of passion. He was ecstatic, electrified, giddy with love and affection.

Vriska laughed softly, the sweet sound chiming through the warm air.

"Wow indeed." She kissed his jaw line. "I've been waiting for that for a long time you know."

"Really?" her statement puzzled him. Why would a girl like Vriska, in her beauty and perfection, want an awkward kid like him? "Why?"

Vriska laughed again, throwing him a playful look from under her lashes.

"Oh John, you're just too charming!" She lay next to him, her head in the crook of his shoulder, her fingertips dancing lightly over the skin of his chest. "Charming, intriguing and downright adorable. I wish we had more time together."  
John sighed, laying his head back on his arm.

"I don't want to wake up. I want to lie here forever with you." Unfortunately though, that's exactly what has happening. Johns vision started to waver, and the dream bubble started to slip. He was waking up back on the Navy Ship.

He groaned, covering his face.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

Vriska lifted her head to look at him quizzically. "Whats wrong John?"

He stared back at her, desperate to commit the scene to his memory.

"Im waking up… I don't want to…"

Vriska lifted her lips to his in a kiss of goodbye. His image was starting to fade before her, and she knew soon he would be gone.

"Sleep again soon John. Sleep and dream of me."

He kissed her again, and then he was gone, leaving Vriska alone in her old respiteblock, lying naked on the floor. She took a moment to think over the events that had just taken place, before sighing outwardly, and rising gracefully to her feet. She gathered her scattered clothes and pulled them on, satisfied that she had reeled him in just enough. A few more meetings like this, and she would be able to move forward with her plan to wreak havoc in the land of the living. She just needed to secure Johns trust a little bit more, make sure he was eating out of her hand, and her hand only. The more dependant he was on her, the easier it would be to convince him.

The feeling of power rushed through her, and she tossed her hair back, revealing in it. This is what she craved. The strength, the control she gained over those around her. This is what she was born to do, and even her own death couldn't stop her from getting what she wanted. With a wicked smile plastered over her face, she turned swiftly on her heel, leapt out her window and flew away into the night, heading back to her hive in the after life, ready to move in on her prey.


End file.
